We must say that there are as many squares as there are numbers. Galileo Galilei
My big thesis is that although the world looks messy and chaotic, if you translate it into the world of numbers and shapes, patterns emerge and you start to understand why things are the way they are. Marcus du Sautoy

How do YOU find photos for the Weekly Photo Challenge?: When I saw the photography assignment for this week, I was a bit crestfallen. Where am I going to find numbers that won’t look predictable, dull and/or un-engaging? I thought, as my eyes scanned my living room. I considered going outside and walking the neighborhood to capture the many ways people number their homes but, I didn’t have enough time. An idea popped in my head to take photos of the monthly pages of a 2012 Banksy inspired calendar. Banksy is British and an Oscar nominated satirist and graffiti artist. His works are well regarded and I love his dark sense of humor and distinctive art. I reached for the calendar, took a few shots and examined them on my camera. I wasn’t convinced they would do.

As I pondered what to do next, my eyes wandered over to the bookshelf that held my kids Manga (Japanese comics created in a very special format) and Anime (Japanese hand-drawn or computer animated works) collections. As I stared at the groupings and names of the authors, my eyes widened as I saw that they were book series. I saw my favorite set of books by Osamu Tezuka who is considered the godfather of manga, and was the first internationally recognized Anime creator in the 1960s. As his work flourished, folks in the industry referred to him as the Walt Disney of Japan, and his success paved the way for the works of many other Manga and Anime creators who are revered in the field today. As I stared at the books, something clicked in my brain. Right before my eyes were several book series my kids collected over the years and they were NUMBERED!!! I was thrilled. The collages above and below are shots of some of their Manga and Anime collections and, Yes, I added the cover of that Banksy inspired calendar to the mix. Hope you like them.

More Below!“Every culture has contributed to maths just as it has contributed to literature. It’s a universal language; numbers belong to everyone.” Daniel Tammet

Pick up a sunflower and count the florets running into its centre, or count the spiral scales of a pine cone or a pineapple, running from its bottom up its sides to the top, and you will find an extraordinary truth: recurring numbers, ratios and proportions. Charles Jencks

Are you familiar with Manga and/or Anime? Manga ( Japanese comics created in a very special format) and Anime (Japanese hand-drawn or computer animated works) were a natural segue for my kids who were born during the hey days of Pokemon and Hello Kitty and enjoyed collecting all their memorabilia, watching the movies and avidly following the escapades of those cute and colorful characters. With all the Pokemon hoopla came their exposure to manga and anime and they latched on to the genre and loved every bit of it. They started reading/watching works by many Manga/Anime artists including Osamu Tezuka, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and Hayao Miyazaki who won an Oscar for his 2002, Spirited Away, a Studio Ghibli production. Over the years, I have enjoyed their love of the genre and even took a trip to Studio Ghibli with them when we went to Japan. So, photography can bring back many memories and this assignment brought back our mutual love for books, cartoons and this special brand of creative expression. Enjoy and come back soon!

This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Photo Challenge: NUMBERS Equations. Clock faces. Cash registers. Numbers are everywhere: this week, share a photo that puts them front and center. Numbers are all around us at home and on the street, in airports and supermarkets, on signs and on our clothes. I can’t wait to see your take on this week’s challenge — what will your numbers show?

Positive Motivation Tip: Numbers help us organize our time and our lives… but, are we paying attention?PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos copyrighted and from my Personal Collection

I watched a documentary once on the significance of the number 3 and its continuous presence and importance throughout history. We often see it as only a number, but there’s psychological behaviour behind our choices and interpretations of numbers, their aesthetics, universal laws, and effects on society.